The Lack of Effect of Botulinum Toxin-A on Upper Limb Activity in Chronic Stroke: A Short Report from the InTENSE Trial.

We examined the effect of botulinum toxin-A on upper limb impairments and activity limitations in chronic stroke. This study is a secondary analysis of control group data from a national, multicenter, Phase III randomized trial with a masked outcome assessment. We studied 71 stroke survivors who received a botulinum toxin-A injection in any muscle(s) that crosses the wrist due to significant spasticity after a stroke greater than 3 months previously.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Advanced Technology Clinical Simulation Manikins in Improving the Capability of Australian Paramedics to Deliver High-Quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Pre- and Postintervention Study.

Background: Emergency medical services attend out-of-hospital cardiac arrests all across Australia. Resuscitation by emergency medical services is attempted in nearly half of all cases. However, resuscitation skills can degrade over time without adequate exposure, which negatively impacts patient survival.

Factors associated with not smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and young people: Analysis of data from the 2014 to 15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey.

Issue Addressed: Smoking rates have been steadily declining among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Examining the factors associated with not smoking in young people is crucial for understanding the motivations and influences that lead individuals to adopt healthy behaviours.

Methods: Secondary analysis was undertaken of data collected as part of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) 2014-15 (n = 1456).

Resuscitation in Paediatric Septic Shock Using Vitamin C and Hydrocortisone (RESPOND): The RESPOND Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

Objectives: Pediatric sepsis results in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is an urgent need to investigate adjunctive therapies that can be administered early. We hypothesize that using vitamin C combined with hydrocortisone increases survival free of inotropes/vasopressors support until day 7 compared with standard care.

Disinformation and calculated care beyond the Global North: comparing refugee discourses in Australia and India.

This article explores what "care" looks like in the specific context of Muslim refugees and asylum seekers within the dominant discourse of humanitarianism. India and Australia are chosen for this comparative analysis because our aim is to emphasise multidimensional anti-Muslim alliances that are now in place in both contexts between the governments and official and unofficial media that influence humanitarian policies and practice. We argue that the "information disorder" that dominates current media ecologies about Muslim refugees in both countries is produced at this nexus of official agents-both state and media institutions-as well as social media content produced by local and global actors that perpetuate anti-Muslim bias.

Erratum: Visualization of endogenous p27 and Ki67 reveals the importance of a c-Myc-driven metabolic switch in promoting survival of quiescent cancer cells: Erratum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/thno.63763.

The association between sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and contrast-associated acute kidney injury in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing angiography: a propensity-matched study.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have been proven to prevent decline in kidney function and failure. Whether SGLT2i affect the risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) remains uncertain.

Methods: Use of SGLT2i was assessed in consecutive diabetics undergoing coronary angiography (CA) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from January 2020 to May 2023 at a tertiary hospital in Chongqing, China.

Direct covalent attachment of fluorescent molecules on plasma polymerized nanoparticles: a simplified approach for biomedical applications.

Polymeric nanoparticles surface functionalised with fluorescent molecules hold significant potential for advancing diagnostics and therapeutic delivery. Despite their promise, challenges persist in achieving robust attachment of fluorescent molecules for real-time tracking. Weak physical adsorption, pH-dependent electrostatic capture, and hydrophobic interactions often fail to achieve stable attachment of fluorescent markers.

Effectiveness and feasibility of a theory-informed intervention to improve Mediterranean diet adherence, physical activity and cognition in older adults at risk of dementia: the MedEx-UK randomised controlled trial.

Background: Despite an urgent need for multi-domain lifestyle interventions to reduce dementia risk, there is a lack of interventions which are informed by theory- and evidence-based behaviour change strategies, and no interventions in this domain have investigated the feasibility or effectiveness of behaviour change maintenance. We tested the feasibility, acceptability and cognitive effects of a personalised theory-based 24-week intervention to improve Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence alone, or in combination with physical activity (PA), in older-adults at risk of dementia, defined using a cardiovascular risk score.

Methods: Participants (n = 104, 74% female, 57-76 years) were randomised to three parallel intervention arms: (1) control, (2) MD, or (3) MD + PA for 24 weeks and invited to an optional 24-week follow-up period with no active intervention.

Network Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials Comparing Robotic, Laparoscopic, and Open Pancreatoduodenectomy.

Background: The use of minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic) pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is being increasingly adopted despite the lack of hard evidence to support its utilisation. With recent randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing open pancreatoduodenectomy (OPD) with robotic or laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy (RPD or LPD), we undertook a network meta-analysis (NMA) comparing all 3 approaches to evaluate comparative outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL was conducted up to May 2024 and relevant RCTs were identified.

Measuring factors associated with telehealth use by people who use mental health services: A psychometric analysis of a theoretical domains framework questionnaire.

Introduction: Telehealth has the potential to improve access to mental health care, especially for people living in rural and remote regions. Yet, telehealth accessibility remains a challenge in Australia, and there is a scarcity of appropriate, psychometrically sound tools for evaluating telehealth use by mental health service users. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate a scale for measuring factors associated with mental healthcare telehealth use.

Views on Augmented Reality and Neurodevelopmental Communication Disability: Survey of Parents, Educators, and Health Professionals.

Purpose: The use of Augmented Reality (AR) in the field of neurodevelopmental communication disability is emergent and under-researched. The views of supporters on the use of AR by children with neurodevelopmental communication disability will help in the design of applications suited to their educational, learning, social, and communication needs.

Aims: To determine the views of supporters of children with neurodevelopmental communication disability on the use of AR, and facilitators or barriers to its use.

Hormonal induction and seasonal variation in male reproductive viability of the Southern Rocky Mountain boreal toad.

The Southern Rocky Mountain boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) depends on both the rearing of wild-collected egg masses and a long-standing conservation breeding program (CBP), the latter of which heavily relies on assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) to support wild populations. Achieving consistent reproductive success in the CBP, however, remains a significant challenge. Natural breeding has not led to a sustained increase in reproductive capacity, prompting the exploration of exogenous hormone treatments as an alternative strategy.

Integrated solutions for sustainable fall prevention in primary care: a pragmatic hybrid-type 2 mixed methods implementation and effectiveness study.

Unlabelled: The iSOLVE implementation project established and evaluated integrated processes and pathways, including a decision-making tool and educational interventions for general medical practitioners (GPs) and the upskilling of allied health professionals (AHPs). The study used a mixed-methods (parallel) design comprising surveys, qualitative methodologies, and an embedded cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT). Sampling was conducted within a Primary Health Network (PHN) geographic area in Sydney, Australia.

Implementation and sustainment of virtual reality stroke workflow training for physician trainees at comprehensive stroke centres: a quantitative and qualitative study.

Background: Variation in stroke treatment metrics highlight a need for approaches to improve clinical processes. Training interventions can improve outcomes, but Australian physician trainees do not currently receive formal process-directed stroke training. Virtual reality (VR) stroke workflow training has proven acceptable, usable, useful and feasible in trial contexts, but how to integrate VR training into physician training remains unclear.

Tackling algorithmic bias and promoting transparency in health datasets: the STANDING Together consensus recommendations.

Without careful dissection of the ways in which biases can be encoded into artificial intelligence (AI) health technologies, there is a risk of perpetuating existing health inequalities at scale. One major source of bias is the data that underpins such technologies. The STANDING Together recommendations aim to encourage transparency regarding limitations of health datasets and proactive evaluation of their effect across population groups.

Non-pharmacological approaches to chronic cough.

While cough is a protective reflex it can occur in the absence of any physical need to clear the airway. In chronic cough, cough can be triggered by innocuous stimuli and persist despite medical treatment. Non-pharmacological interventions such as cough control therapy, provided by speech pathologists, have gained popularity in recent years.

Lisdexamfetamine in the treatment of methamphetamine dependence: A randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Aims: This study tested the efficacy and safety of a 12-week course of lisdexamfetamine in reducing methamphetamine use, an outcome which is associated with improvements in health and wellbeing, in people dependent on methamphetamine.

Design, Setting And Participants: This study was a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial conducted in six specialist outpatient clinics in Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney, Australia (2018-2021). Participants were164 adults with methamphetamine dependence, reporting at least 14 use days out of the previous 28 days (62% male, 38% female, < 1% other; mean age 39 years).

Radiographic and visual response to the type II RAF inhibitor tovorafenib in children with relapsed/refractory optic pathway glioma in the FIREFLY-1 trial.

Background: Due to their anatomical locations, optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) can rarely be cured by resection. Given the importance of preserving visual function, we analyzed radiological and visual acuity (VA) outcomes for the type II RAF inhibitor tovorafenib in the OPG subgroup of the phase 2 FIREFLY-1 trial.

Methods: FIREFLY-1 investigated the efficacy (arm 1, n=77), safety, and tolerability (arms 1/2) of tovorafenib (420 mg/m2 once weekly; 600 mg maximum) in patients with BRAF-altered relapsed/refractory pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG).

A prognostic model for predicting functional impairment in youth mental health services.

Background: Functional impairment is a major concern among those presenting to youth mental health services and can have a profound impact on long-term outcomes. Early recognition and prevention for those at risk of functional impairment is essential to guide effective youth mental health care. Yet, identifying those at risk is challenging and impacts the appropriate allocation of indicated prevention and early intervention strategies.

Digital learning of clinical skills and its impact on medical students' academic performance: a systematic review.

Background: The constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rapid development and implementation of digital methods for teaching clinical skills in medical education. This systematic review presents both the benefits, challenges, and effectiveness of this transition.

Methods: A systematic search of six electronic databases (SCOPUS, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC & Informit) was conducted on 1st October 2023 and updated on 1st April 2024 to identify peer- reviewed articles, from 2019 onwards, which used any type of digital tool (online or otherwise) to teach clinical skills to medical trainees (undergraduate or postgraduate) and were published in English language.

Chemical eye injury in remote and urgent care clinic settings.

Background: Chemical eye injuries are potentially sight-threatening injuries, representing 10-22% of all ocular trauma presentations. Prompt assessment and management of chemical eye injuries in general practice and urgent care clinic settings can prevent patients from losing vision.

Objective: This article presents a clinically useful guide for general practitioners to support the primary management of chemical-related eye injuries, particularly in rural and regional settings.

Extracellular enzymes as reliable indicators of long-term antimony contamination.

Antimony (Sb) contamination in soil has become a growing concern due to its toxic effects on ecological soil functions. Soil enzymes, which are effective biological indicators, play a crucial role in assessing the ecological impact of heavy metals in soil. However, the effects of Sb on soil enzyme activity, particularly during the ageing process, remain poorly understood.

Abnormally high exertional breathlessness predicts mortality in people referred for incremental cycle exercise testing.

Background: Exertional breathlessness is a key symptom in cardiorespiratory disease and can be quantified using incremental exercise testing, but its prognostic significance is unknown. We evaluated the ability of abnormally high breathlessness intensity during incremental cycle exercise testing to predict all-cause, respiratory, and cardiac mortality.

Study Design And Methods: Longitudinal cohort study of adults referred for exercise testing followed prospectively for mortality assessed using the Swedish National Causes of Death Registry.